“We have a joint interest in working on the Barents Sea shelf”, a representative of Zarubezhneft told journalists. According to the representative a joint venture in the area has been discussed “for a long time”, Oilru.com reports.
According to Kommersant, the issue was on the agenda also during the Vietnamese President’s visit to Moscow last week.
Zarubezhneft has also earlier expressed interest in the promising Arctic waters. As previously reported, the company in 2011 outlined a desire for licenses in previously disputed Russian-Norwegian zone. The delimitation agreement, which came into force in July 2011, opened the waters to mapping and exploration.
Of special interest for Zarubezhneft was the Fedinsky High field. However the license to the structure was instead acquired by Rosneft, which subsequently teamed up with Eni.
Zarubezhneft has until now not been authoritized to operate on the Russian shelf. However, with the acquisition of the Arktikmorneftegazrazvedka, a deal which was consolidated this year, that might soon change. With Arktikmorneftegazrazvedka as part of its company structure, Zarubezhneft has the five years of shelf experiences required by Russian regulations. Currently, only Rosneft and Gazprom operates on the Russian Arctic shelf.
Zarubezhneft and Petrovietnam cooperate closely in several project, among them in the waters off the Vietnam coast. In Russia, the two companies jointly operate the Tsentralno-Khoreyverskoye field in the Timan Pechora province, a field which was officially launched on the 27 July.
